Amusement parks play to international audiences

Posted Thursday, April 3, 2008 9:57 AM | Contributed by Jeff

Twenty-five years after Walt Disney Co. began moving overseas, U.S. companies like Six Flags, Universal Studios and DreamWorks are marching rapidly to the Mideast and Far East seeking new revenue streams and an increasingly global audience. Major U.S. companies have at least 13 parks in the works in South Korea, Singapore, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. In every case, developers are fronting millions of dollars to buy land and build parks, while the U.S. businesses reap licensing fees for attractions featuring the likes of Spider-Man and SpongeBob SquarePants without financial risk.